Terror
by VocallyWritten
Summary: She's afraid to close her eyes, afraid to let her guard down because if she does he will find her.  If she does he will kill her.  There's something sinister happening in Waverly Place, and Alex has everything to do with it.  Even if she doesn't know why.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This idea came to me when I was watching the series finale. What if the griffin wasn't basically some mean prank meant to test the Russo kids? What if there was something else going on there?**

Alex walked into the kitchen in an effort to be alone. That didn't exactly work out seeing as her mother, father and friends were still able to see her through the window. She clenched her fists so hard she imprinted the shape of each fingernail into her palms after she caught the looks they were sending her. She didn't need their pity, she didn't want it. Suddenly she felt like she was on display, like everyone was looking at her and it annoyed her more. She ducked into the storage room out of habit, but was disappointed all over again for a moment when the only thing there was food. And jeez it was _cold_. But she couldn't go out there yet. She couldn't face them, especially Justin and Max.

She had messed everything up, and she knew it. Not just for her, for everyone else. They had every right to hate her. _It'll never be better. You ruined everything._ She closed her eyes and held back tears as she remembered what her brothers said to her. _It'll never be better. You ruined everything_. Then she scrubbed at her eyes, disgusted with herself. Her fault? Was she the only one that saw that saving their friends was far more important than winning some stupid competition (even if it _was_ THE competition)? Were they really that selfish, valuing power over friendship, and even over human life? She didn't really pay attention in English class, but she couldn't help but feel like that thought was bitterly ironic. If ironic was the right word to described her disgust with her brothers for needing their powers more than their friends when everyone probably expected her to have that attitude. She didn't really know what "ironic" meant.

Tears were now flowing freely down her face and she couldn't tell if it was the frustration at her brothers, or the anger at herself. Alex shivered as the tears seemed to freeze on her face from the cold of the room. After years of being told that she would never win, never amount to anything as a wizard, she had prepared herself to loose. She even prepared for a couple months of cold distance from Justin, whom she was sure would win. How could he not? And how could she not be the teensyest bit jealous of him, the golden child, the favorite? Most of the time she wouldn't let Justin's snark get to her, after all, she obviously had way more snark than he does. Most of the time she would ignore the soft chuckles, confused stares and eye rolls she often got after people found out who she was. Alex Russo. The trouble maker. The rebel and the exact opposite of her perfect brother, that's who she was.

From the first day of kindergarten, Alex recalled the heavy expectations that were already on her, and how much she resented them. Her _wonderful_ brother already had such potential, and they expected just as much from her. At first she tried to make everyone happy, tried to learn at the same rate as the great Justin Russo, but how could she do that when she couldn't seem to concentrate for more then a few minutes? And then Gigi and her stupid friends happened.

Gigi had decided that Alex would be her worst enemy because Alex took the crayon Gigi was using. It was the dumbest thing Alex had ever heard and she told Gigi so. Gigi didn't appreciate that. The next day she was the laughingstock of the entire grade because Gigi had poured juice on her mat after nap time and said that Alex had an accident. That's when Alex just snapped. She was furious with Gigi and she couldn't control herself, she pounced on her, tugging at her hair and screaming the meanest names she knew of at that age. After that day, everyone wrote her off as a trouble maker, after that day, everyone compared her to Justin.

And then there was Max. Max was also something she could never be: innocent. Alex knew Max wasn't as dumb as he tried to present himself, he just needed the attention that came with it. Like Alex, he got his attention from rebelling, just in a different way than Alex did. Alex was the prankster and as unreliable and uncaring as they come. She knew that. She did it on purpose after all. Max acted stupid and amusingly clueless because Justin was already getting the attention through good grades and good behavior, Alex with her bad grades and bad behavior. He decided to be something wholly other because if he accomplished anything either his brother or his sister did it wasn't as big of a deal because they had already done it. However, in Max's mission to be different than his siblings, he managed to maintain an innocence that drew people to him. No one could resist the "Max Charm" as he called it simply because you just couldn't help it. There was an air around Max that was so child-like, but at the same time almost adult. He managed to have a wonder for the world around him, but at the same time, he understood it perfectly. It was the kind of magnetism Alex could never have.

Alex heard footsteps coming toward the door, hesitating, then growing fainter. It was probably Harper or her mom wanting to check on her and then thinking better of it. Glaring at the door, she realized that she would never truly be alone if she stayed in the building. She stood up, checked herself for any remnants of crying, then walked out of the shop. Her parents and Harper called after her, telling her to wait, and she saw out of the corner of her eye that her brothers had come out of their hiding spots to see what was going on.

The moment she stepped outside she knew why they were trying to stop her: It was pouring down rain. She didn't bother looking back even though it was freezing and she wasn't wearing a jacket. Once upon a time, she could have just popped one on, but now it seemed almost ridiculous. Popping a jacket on? Magical powers? Absolutely, utterly ridiculous. If she didn't have a scar from one of Max's spells gone awry and a small hole in the wall next to her bed from when her wand was launched into it, she might begin to question the existence of magic. Maybe it had all been some crazy dream. That's what this felt like anyway. Losing her entire family's magic felt like she had woken up from an insane dream, one she knew wouldn't last, but couldn't help enjoying anyway.

Thinking back on all those happy memories, she couldn't help but feel an intense stab of sadness. In the end, it didn't matter who was morally right, all that mattered was the fact that something wonderful had ended forever. And she wasn't sure if her brothers could ever let that go. In their minds, Alex was the sole reason everything went wrong today and Alex couldn't find it in herself to blame them. Maybe because part of her agreed with them.

"You should." A voice whispered behind her. Alex whipped her already soaking head around, annoyed that someone would interrupt her sulking (no matter how pathetic that sounded). Seeing no one, her annoyance quickly gave way to confusion. There was a complete lack of people on Waverly Place because of the storm. Everyone had retreated into shops, homes, and taxis leaving the street eerily.

"Hello?" Alex called out, despite having just assessed the fact that there wasn't a soul in sight. She knew it was her imagination, she just needed to be fully convinced.

"Oh come on!" The voice said slightly louder. "You may be mortal now, but that doesn't mean you need to act like one!" Alex whipped her head left and right trying to find where the voice was coming from now, but it seemed to come at her from all directions. "Just your imagination," it scoffed. "You used to be a wizard, shouldn't that have shown you that everything is not what it seems?" The voice goaded her.

"Who are you?" Alex asked, angry with herself when her voice came out wavering and weak. "What do you want?"

"Right now I want you to see. I want you to see that you are right to be afraid of me." The voice had taken a horrible, demonic sound, reminding Alex of monsters in the movies she watched all the time. She began to back up quickly, preparing to run. Suddenly she felt a horrible pain in her arm that stunned her so badly, she fell to the ground, shaking and drained of energy. She was entirely too weak to move away even as she heard something approaching her. "Come on Miss Russo," the voice snarled. "Look at me, see me. See what you're so afraid of." She felt the invisible someone (she was eighty percent sure it was a person) kick her in the stomach. Hard.

"Why are you doing this?" Alex managed gasp. The invisible man grabbed her roughly by the hair to pull her head up and she cried out in pain. Then his hot breath was next to her ear. She shivered, because of both the rain and the horrible feeling she had about this whole situation.

"I meant what I said earlier you know. You should agree with your brothers. You ruined everything for them. They hate you, and you deserve it. You don't deserve them." Her head slammed against the pavement and tears were overflowing in her eyes again. Did she deserve the emotional and physical pain she was in now? She wasn't sure.

It only barely registered in her mind that this thing must be able to read thoughts and that could have been because the world was growing slightly fuzzy or it could have been that she was a bit too preoccupied to think about it too much.

"Come on Alex, open your eyes and see me. If you don't see me it won't be nearly as satisfying." Her eyes were open, she wanted to protest, and what exactly won't be satisfying if she can't see him? But her mouth wouldn't open, and she still could barely move.

"Alex?" The sudden appearance of Harper's voice was a welcome change, but she couldn't allow Harper to find her. What if the thing hurt her too? She began to squirm away, but hadn't gotten far when she received another hard kick, which was accompanied by a sickening crack. Alex bit back a sob.

"Alex, where are you?" Harper must have heard something, for her voice sounded panicked now. The pain flared up even worse with every breath she took and even though she never had a broken bone in her life, she was sure her ribs were. Alex felt the thing kneel down beside her.

"You're lucky you still have someone to save you, but it won't be like that for long." It growled. Alex was confused, how could Harper have saved her? Then, he was gone, and Harper was in his place.

"Alex! Oh my gosh what happened? Are you hurt?" Alex finally couldn't stand it anymore, her friends genuine concern and her ignorance of what had just happened sent Alex over the edge. Sobs wracked her body, and the pain became unbearable. Soon, she realized that she needed to calm down unless she wanted to faint from the pain. When her body stopped shaking she looked back at Harper, who was now worried sick about her best friend. She decided then and there that she couldn't handle giving Harper more to worry about.

"Sorry about that," Alex whispered hoarsely, trying, but not succeeding to ignore the pain in her ribs. "I just... I was running, and I slipped in a puddle and landed really hard on the curb. I think I broke a rib." Harper nodded, and got out her phone.

"Hello? Yeah I found her... No actually she's not... She needs a doctor so... Yeah at the very end of the street... I'll explain when you guys get here... Yeah... Okay bye." Harper glanced at Alex, who was shivering from the rain. Shrugging off her own jacket, she carefully draped it over her friend. "That was your mom, she and the rest of the family are on their way. Do you think you can sit up?" Alex tried to, slowly inching her way up when she hissed in pain."It's okay Alex, you're almost there." When she finally managed a sitting position, she heard a car honking at them. She looked over and saw her parent's barely used car parked on the curb next to them.

"Alex! Are you alright? What happened?" Her mother called out, slamming the car door in her hurry to reach her daughter.

"Well, I-" Alex began weakly, but was cut off by Harper.

"She took a really nasty spill, Mrs. Russo. She thinks her rib might be broken." Harper informed them.

"Oh _mija_! Can you stand? Justin! Come help your sister! Now!" Theresa yelled at the car. Then she saw Justin rushing out of the car toward her. He grabbed her arms at her armpits and yanked her up. Alex bit back a cry of pain, and started hobbling to the car with her brother following closely behind.

She didn't know what possessed her to do it, but abruptly, she turns around to face him. "Thanks, you know, for helping me." She doesn't know why she thanked him either, it's like her and apologizing, it just doesn't happen. But she desperately wants things to be okay between them. For a moment Justin looks almost pained, then he brushes it off and tells her the one thing he know will hurt her, "I didn't want to, they made me." He was right, the look on her face told him just how much it did hurt. His stomach churned guiltily.

"Sorry to have inconvenienced you." Alex coldly replied. Then she turned around and crawled into the car, wincing every time she made a wrong move. Justin got in on the other side and openly stared at her, hoping to catch her eye so she could see he was sorry. But she wouldn't even glance at him, looking out the window the whole way there.

Justin had no way of knowing that it had less to do with him and more to do with the horrible creature that had attacked her. She was terrified he would come again, and a part of her knew he would. Her encounter with it had been brief but she had still walked away with electrical burns on her arms (how could she explain those?) and a broken rib or two. Next time she feared it would end a whole lot worse. She had to tell somebody, she knew that, she was just having trouble deciding on which somebody she should tell.

* * *

><p>"I hope you're very proud of yourself Justin Russo." Justin looked up from his magazine to find a very angry Harper Finkle glaring at him. "If you hadn't upset Alex so much we wouldn't even be here."<p>

"Maybe if she hadn't made us lose our magic we could have healed her at home!"

Harper made a disgusted sound and replied, "Is that always what it's going to be about? The competition? Because that was not her fault and you know it! I don't understand why you blame her either, because she was doing the right thing."

"Well you're biased!" Justin yelled.

"Oh, yeah of course! Of _course _you'd think I'm biased. The only question is, am I biased because I'm her best friend or am I biased because she's the _only_ one who wanted to save my _life_? And when you guys got there and couldn't find Zeke? You wanted to _leave_ him there." Harper exclaimed tearfully.

"We would have come back for him." Justin defended weakly.

"When? After the griffin had digested him? Some best friend you are. I'm really, very impressed." Came her scathing reply.

"Harper-" Justin began.

"No! I don't want to hear anything else from you ever again." Justin felt as if he had been punched in the gut. Harper turned to walk away but turned to face him again to add, "You know, it's funny, I'm sure everyone would have expected Alex to act selfishly, but situations like that tend to show people's true colors, I guess. In the end, Alex was the one who didn't even stop to think about herself while her _wonderful_ brother wanted to turn his head and pretend it didn't happen so he could have his precious powers. You even turned Max against her. Did you know she's terrified that _you_ won't forgive _her_? Do you realize how _backwards_ that is?" And with that, she turned and walked down the hall to her room. Leaving him to wonder just how badly he screwed up.

**A/N:I just couldn't resist putting that last scene in there. I mean I would think Harper and Zeke have every right to be mad at Justin. He didn't want to save them! Well, review! Flames will be used to make smores.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey everyone, sorry it has taken me so long to update! You have no idea how crazy it has been lately. Got majorly in trouble cause my chem grade isn't all that great. I REALLY hate that class, science and math are not my friends. I really don't know how you math/science people do it. Anyway, sorry about that rant and while I'm apologizing, I want to say that I'm sorry about the last part of the chapter. I didn't make it very clear that that scene took place at the hospital, just in case someone wasn't clear on that. On with the story!**

* * *

><p>Alex sat quietly in hospital bed. She really didn't want anyone around her, but at the same time, she was terrified of being alone. The pain in her stomach had subsided some, thanks to the pain medication they had given her. Never in her life had she been in more pain. Before tonight she hadn't even broken one bone, let alone several. The constant pain she was in when she took a breath would be there for a while, she had been told, so it was best to get some rest for the next week or so. The problem was, despite the pain medication making her drowsy, she was afraid to close her eyes for more than a few moments. She was afraid of going to sleep, letting her guard down and then never waking up because that monster had come for her. She knew he would come for her tonight. Maybe not in reality, but in her nightmares he would have a starring role. Burns in the shape of fingers encircled her forearm, throbbing dully and forcing her to picture the night's events in great detail.<p>

It was very late at night, she realized after surveying the room again. No wonder the hospital had recommended that she just stay the night. After the doctors had finished up her tests, there wasn't much of the night left and the nurses could see that she was dead on her feet and needed rest. Unfortunately rest couldn't be an option tonight. Rest might never be an option again if the scars from the burn don't fade. Glancing over at Mason, she smiled. He was sleeping in a chair right next to her bed. He had come running to the hospital when he had found out what had happened to Alex. Unfortunately, visiting hours were over and the nurse had sent him home. Theresa had smuggled him back in, to Alex's extreme relief. After everything she had been through, she needed him more than she needed even Harper and her parents. He was the one person she could count on to understand her. While her parents and Max (he seemed to have forgotten he was even angry with her, and Alex certainly wasn't complaining) had demanded the details of what had happened, Mason had just come in, pulled a chair to her bed, and held her hand. He noticed the burns too, but he never said a thing. The question and suspicion in his eyes had been obvious though. Alex knew that he knew there was something else going on with her. He knew she was lying. But he also knew that he couldn't push her, and she knew he would wait a little while for her to be ready to tell him. She really didn't deserve him.

Alex wrinkled her nose in distaste. Gosh, she had been such a sap these past few hours. Although, she supposed she had a good reason to act like one. She had been too caught up in her own thoughts to notice someone standing hesitantly in her doorway, but when Justin cleared his throat slightly, she jumped.

"Justin!" Alex hissed. "You scared me. Don't sneak up on me like that, especially after-" She stopped herself. Of all the people she was going to tell first, it would definitely not be Justin.

"After what?" Justin asked, his eyebrows drawing together. Alex groaned slightly. Now that she let it slip he would grill her until she told him. "Alex?" Alex looked up at her brother and saw the worry in his eyes. He was not going to let this go, she could see as much. "Alex what do you mean?" He knew. Of course he did. Well of course he didn't know exactly what happened, but he knew there was something going on. Something not right. Something that had his tough little sister running scared. He wanted answers, and she wasn't going to insult his intelligence by lying to his face. Not now that he saw the right through the mask she had constructed for her family. If she lied now it would crumble. So she couldn't lie. But she didn't think she was ready for the truth either. If she told the truth her mask wasn't the only thing that would crumble.

"Are we okay?" She blurted. It was the first thing she could think of that would distract him. And she really did want to know. "Because I know I messed up. I know you and Max think that I've ruined everything for our family. But I just think that you should know that-"

Justin cut her off with his hand. "Hey hey hey. I should be the one apologizing, I was a real jerk to you. I guess I was really just angry with myself, you know?" Alex shook her head. "Well, I was."

"Why?" Alex asked, wondering what he was talking about.

"Because I should have been able to fix everything, the way I always do. Did." He corrected himself. "Lately it seems like you're the one doing the fixing. And when I realized that I got even angrier. I tried to put everything on you, I guess, so that I wouldn't have to put the blame where it belonged. On me." Alex opened her mouth, ready to protest the statement but Justin held up his hand again and continued. "No Alex, I know it's true. If I would have been helpful, if I would have tried just as hard as you did to save our friends, we could have made it back. But I didn't, instead I worried more about getting back in time so I could win than I was about our own friends." He covered his face with his hands. He was quiet for a long time and Alex figured that he was done when he spoke up again, his voice muffled by his hands. "I've been so stupid Alex. I have been such a jerk. And I'm not sure if I can fix it." Alex sighed and tentatively reached out to touch her brother's shoulder, causing him to look up.

"You will never be able to fix it, Justin, but you can make up for it." Alex searched her brothers face ad saw a park of hope flash in his eyes. "And apologizing is a good way to start, I guess."

He smiled gratefully at his younger sister, then his brow creased, as though he had just remembered something that confused him. "What?" Alex asked. "What's wrong?"

"It's just that, what you said to me earlier, to not sneak up on you after something happened? And when I came in, you looked genuinely terrified of something." And that was it. She had to tell him.

"I was hoping that you would have forgotten about that." The brunette wizard looked down at her hands, as though something very important was on them.

"I didn't."The young man told her softly. Alex found herself looking up at him again, trying to decide if she could trust him to keep her secret. Because no matter what happened, she was telling her story to certain people when she was ready to tell them. She never planned on keeping anyone in the dark forever, Alex knew this was a dangerous situation for not only herself, but her family.

"Alright," She heard herself say, although she wasn't consciously aware of making the decision to trust him. "But you need to _promise_ you won't tell anyone. Not Mom, not Dad, not Max, not Zeke, not even Harper and Mason. Please. I need to tell them myself, and I'm not ready to do that. Please." This time, it was Justin who was studying her eyes, trying to see how serious she was.

"Alright." Justin nodded to her.

"I couldn't stand being in the sub shop anymore, so I walked out, and I got to the end of the street when I heard this voice." Justin frowned at that, but made no move to interrupt so she continued. "At first I though I was going crazy, but then It was talking about how I shouldn't act like a mortal just because I was one, and that I needed to open my eyes and see him. At least I'm pretty sure it was a him. I got freaked out, tried to run and ended up with these." Alex turned her arm to show her brother the burns. His fists clenched and his eyes flashed, but still he made no comment. "Then he started hurting me." Her voice cracked when she said "hurting". "Then Harper came out and he stopped, saying something about how I wouldn't have people to protect me forever, and then it was over. At least for now." The last sentence was barely a whisper, but Alex knew her brother had heard it because he tensed beside her.

"Are you sure that's exactly what happened? You didn't leave anything out?" Justin demanded, frantic.

"Yes, absolutely, but what does it mean?" Alex asked, noticing her brother's extreme tension.

"I have no idea," He stood suddenly, jostling the bed, causing Alex to gasp slightly in pain, but Justin was beyond noticing. "But I know it's not good, and I'm going to find out." With that, he began backing out of the room.

"Justin!" Alex called as quietly as she could. Mason was, after all, still asleep. "We don't even have our-" He was already out. "Wizard books." She finished and let out a groan. How was he supposed to learn about some obviously magical creature with no real magic of his own, much less the materials that could have anything _about_ said magical creature. Oh well, this was Justin she was talking about. If anyone could find a way it would be him. And now, she had told someone. Maybe knowing that someone would be there to protect her would allow her to get some sleep. She snuggled deeper into her bed and closed her eyes when she heard:

"Alex, was all that true?" She opened her eyes to see Mason's worried face close to hers.

Okay. Maybe two someones.


	3. Chapter 3

Alex sighed. "Yeah, Mason. It is."

A look of hurt flashed across his face. "And when were you planning to tell me?" He demanded. "I can help you. I can protect you."

"I know you can. In fact, you were the first one I was going to tell, but Justin..." She shook her head. "Well, I'm guessing you heard."

Mason nodded slowly. "So, what now?"

"Now," She said. "We hope that Justin can figure out what's going on."

He studied her face for a long moment. "And what if he can't?"

Alex held his gaze. "Then we figure something else out." There was no mistaking the determination in her voice. Alex Russo was not going down without a fight.

Mason nodded. "Right." He hesitated for a moment, looking her up and down before continuing carefully. "Are you going to tell anyone else?"

She glared at him fiercely. "No." The answer left little room for discussion, which was exactly what she wanted. Sometimes, however, Mason was just as stubborn as his girlfriend.

"Why not?" He asked gently. He was well aware of Alex's hatred of feeling trapped in any way. The werewolf had to approach this carefully, or she would shut off on him completely.

The silence in the room was almost suffocating. He had begun to think she wouldn't answer his question at all, until she raised her eyes to meet his.

"I-" She began, but cut off, shaking her head. "Mason, I-" She took a deep breath in, steeling herself. "I know I can be selfish, and mean, but I love my family. And if they knew what really happened... they would get involved. I can't let that happen. Because I know, somehow, that he would cut down anyone in his way to get to me."

Mason grasped her hand between his own. "I'm not going to let him hurt you, Alex. I promise."

Alex shifted her gaze to her lap. She knew Mason was serious. He would fight to protect her no matter what the cost. Which was why she was so concerned. It was a bit intimidating, having someone who loved her this much, and it scared her more than she would ever admit. She could no longer imagine a future without him, and if she lost him again, Alex didn't think she would be able to survive. Though, she was beginning to doubt her chances of surviving through this anyway.

"I know." She said quietly. Suddenly exhausted, she leaned back into the pillows and closed her eyes.

* * *

><p>Her dreams were, surprisingly, not nightmares (she credited Mason's presence for that) but they were confusing none the less. Brief flashes of moments danced before her eyes, one never making more sense than another, but none were frightening. If anything, they were comfortable. Little every day moments with confusing twists.<p>

Alex saw herself examining an elaborately carved ivory comb with confusion and disgust. The wind blew fiercely, tearing at her hair and dress, but dream Alex didn't seem to notice. A lake, oddly calm despite the wind, stretched out in front of her in an endless horizon. She threw the comb into the lake, the disturbance causing ripples across the glassy surface.

Then, as quickly as the scene appeared, it changed, and she was suddenly watching an older man working on a field. Sweat dripped off him in the heat of summer, and she was walking toward him.

The scene then shimmered and Alex was twirling in a red, silk dress, sounds of admiration surrounding her.

She was grabbing an apple from a stand in a market.

She was laughing as she climbed a tree, her dress snagging on twigs as she went.

She was trying to get Justin to dance.

"Come on!" She exclaimed laughingly, tugging on his arm. "I must have at least one dance with my brother before the evening is out."

Justin only looked at her, his eyes warming with fond exasperation and more than a little amusement. "I'll only step on your feet." He says. "Go find a worthier partner, Alexandra." He glances around for a moment before nodding at a young man standing a little ways from them. "He's been staring at you all night, and I'd wager he's a better dancer than I am."

Alexandra spun around and her eyes fell on the man in question. She quickly turned back to her brother, her nose wrinkled in distaste. "No thank you. I would rather not. Ever. He gives me the creeps."

Justin rolled his eyes at his sister and sighed. "If I dance with you," He began slowly. "You will try to 'accidentally' trip me."

Alexandra nodded, a smirk playing at her lips. "It's half the fun of dancing with you."

He shook his head once, then offered her his arm. "If I do this, we're leaving the minute the dance is over."

She pouted at him for a minute before accepting the arm held out to her. "Deal." She said, dragging him to the center of the room like she was afraid he would change his mind. Justin heaved a long-suffering sigh, making her laugh.

_I can make leaving the ball early well worth it,_ She thought with a smirk. _If I can get him to fall on his face._

* * *

><p>When Alex woke up the next morning, she first became aware of voices talking quietly around her. She couldn't make out what they were saying, but there was no mistaking the anger in both voices. They were arguing.<p>

She slipped her hand, now slick with sweat, from Mason' s and opened her eyes. The argument stopped instantly and her boyfriend and her bother looked over at her.

"Sorry," Justin said after a minute. "Did we wake you up?"

Alex shook her head, but didn't say anything. Waking up to Mason and Justin totally and obviously having a fight while she was sleeping was a difficult thing for her to compute in the morning. Sure they had their differences, but Alex was under the impression they _liked_ each other.

"What were you guys talking about?" She blurted out, then winced. _Smooth, Alex,_ She thought._ Real smooth._

Justin and Mason looked at each other guiltily.

"Nothing you need to worry about, love." Mason said quickly, earning a glare from Justin and Alex.

"I think I can decide what I need to worry about, Mason." She said evenly.

Mason had enough sense to look properly chastised. "Right, of course, I apologize." He stuttered. "We were just discussing the- uh- we were just trying to-"

"Mason and I were just trying to figure out our best course of action after...what happened." Justin interrupted.

Alex raised her eye brows. "Really? Because, to me, it sounded more like you were fighting."

Mason flushed. "Yes, well, Justin and I were having a...slight disagreement about-"

"Who was having a slight disagreement with you?" Harper's voice sounded from the doorway of the hospital room. Oblivious to the shocked and horrified expressions of the people in the room, she crossed the threshold and plopped a fast food bag onto Alex's lap. "Figured you wouldn't want hospital food. I got you the greasiest stuff I could find."

Alex laughed and hoped no one noticed how she clutched at her ribs after. "Thanks Harper. And don't mind Mason and Justin, they're just arguing about baseball and cricket or something." She said with a dismissive wave of her hand.

Harper's smile dimmed when she heard Justin's name. "And what's Justin doing here?" She rounded on him, and Justin took a step back. "I thought you went with your parents and Max to get breakfast."

"No, I-uh-wasn't hungry."

"Harper," Alex cut in. "Retract the claws, we're good. He forgave me, I forgave him and now we're back to being our happy, dysfunctional selves."

Harper sighed. "Fine. I have to go anyway, I'm meeting Zeke pretty soon. I just wanted to drop off your food."

"Fine! Go make thousands of people sick with your icky dork love." Alex wrinkled her nose. "I'll just be here."

"Not for long," Harper said, backing towards the door. "You're getting checked out as soon as your parents get back."

"Forget that," She said, climbing out of the hospital bed. "I'm eighteen years old. I'll check myself out." She looked down at the hospital gown she had been given to sleep in and made a face. "But first, I think I'll change."

"Alex you should probably wait for Mom and Dad to-" Justin began, but his little sister ignored him as she grabbed her clothes and slammed the bathroom door. "Get back." He finished, lamely.

"Well," Mason spoke up after a minute. "At least she hasn't lost her fire."

Justin glared at him.

"What?" Mason asked.

* * *

><p>After coming back from the hospital, they had immediately run up to Justin's room to do some research, much their parents' surprise (and suspicion). Alex had quickly made herself at home, to Justin's annoyance, and plopped down on his bed. He only mumbled under his breath about annoying little sisters and threw a book on the bed for her to go through.<p>

"Justin!" Alex whined. "I'm not reading this. It's as big as an encyclopedia."

"That's because it _is _an encyclopedia, Alex." The former wizard explained, exasperated. "It's an encyclopedia of every monster and creature known to wizard kind. If whatever attacked you wasn't human, it will be in there."

Alex pouted and looked about a moment away from stomping her foot if she hadn't been lying down. "How do you even have this? I thought all our wizard stuff had poofed out of existence."

"It did, but I have a theory."

She rolled her eyes. "Of course you do."

"Now, I think the spell they used focused on one area, the lair. Everything in the lair vanished, but the spell couldn't tell if the books in my room were magical, or just books, so they got left alone." He explained animatedly.

Alex's forehead wrinkled in confusion. "But I had magic stuff in my room." She argued. "And it disappeared with the lair."

"Yeah, because your stuff actually had magical properties. I might have had half the wizard library in my room, but none of them were magical." He shrugged. "They're just books."

She snorted. "Congratulations, Justin, your love of all things boring has finally become useful."

Justin rolled his eyes and chucked a piece of crumple paper at her.

"We're not going to find anything in these, you know." She said after a while.

"Why would you say that?" Justin glanced at his sister and winced at the expression on her face. She looked so- so sad, defeated. Justin couldn't remember the last time Alex had made that face, and he didn't like it.

"Because, I-" She bit her lip thoughtfully. "I know this isn't a monster. It was a person." She glanced down at the burns on her arms. "He had hands. He spoke to me."

Justin looked at her sharply. "What did he say to you? Tell me again."

She wrinkled her forehead in concentration. "Uh-something about how he wanted me to see him. That I used to be a wizard so I should be able to see him." She shook her head. "None of it made any sense."

Justin's eyes darkened. "Call Mason." He told her, his voice welling up with some unidentifiable emotion. "Now."

She stood up, but made no move to do what he said. "Why?" The confusion and fear she felt at his reaction leaking into the question. "What's going on?"

"I don't know, but I might have an idea. I can't believe I didn't think about it before. If I'm right-" He broke off, raking his fingers through his hair and looking up at her. "Let's just hope I'm not right." Dropping his gaze from her, the fire in him went out. "Call Mason. He should be here." He said softly.

"Not until you tell me what's going on." Alex crossed her arms. "We can fill Mason in later, but I deserve to know what's going on."

He gaped at her, his mouth opening and closing, an action which would have been comical if she weren't so frustrated.

There was a pregnant pause as they stared at each other. Neither of them moved and Alex could practically hear her brother thinking everything through. Finally, he blew out a breath. "Fine. You're right. You deserve to know, even if it's just a theory."

She took a step closer to him. "Justin?"

"I think that you were attacked by a wizard using astral projection." Noticing the lost look on her face, he continued. "It's one of the most difficult and draining spells you can ever use, and no one has ever used it for good. It's difficult to pin the person down with magic and it will be nearly impossible without. A wizard can send out his essence to any place in the world if he has enough power. The last _known_ case of astral projection ended in the Salem Witch Hunts but there could be tons of attacks that went unreported over the centuries." He paused to take in a breath. "This is really dark magic, Alex, and the Wizard Counsel has banned it one hundred times over."

"So what do we do?" Justin studied her for a moment, as though he could gauge her reaction before he said anything.

"I don't know," His hands clenched at his sides, frustration oozing from him.

Alex set her jaw. "Well I do."

Justin's teeth snapped together with a sharp click."_No._"

She looked up, eyes widening at the fury and terror the word carried. Shaking off the initial shock, she stepped closer to him. "Justin," She began carefully. "It's the only way." One step took her even closer to him, and she watched as his face smoothed into a blanker, more neutral expression. Alex wasn't going to lie to herself and say that didn't terrify her just a little. Justin was always very expressive. Seeing his face blank after he had such intense emotions on display creeped her out and spoke volumes about how angry he was.

"No, Alex," He repeated lowly. "I won't let you deliberately put yourself in harm's way. I can't."

Why not?" She demanded, suddenly a bit hysterical. "He's going to come back anyway! Why not take advantage of the situation?"

"Because," Justin looked like he was about to bust an artery. "I'm your older brother, and for once in you life let that mean something to you and listen to me!" Alex looked at him, shocked, and he stared back evenly, his breathing heavy. "I can't just let you do that when I'm supposed to protect you." He continued, quieter this time. "I'm supposed to protect you."

She closed her eyed and let a careful, frustrated breath out. When she opened her eyes she stared him down. "You can't protect me from everything. You can't protect me from this." And with that, she stormed out of the room.

**A/N: Hey guys! I'm so sorry it took so long to update, I'm really bad at time management. I really wish I could guarantee more frequent updates, but the truth is I can't. The good news is I know exactly where I'm going with this story, so that might make it easier to update.**

**In other news, I am currently looking for a beta to help me out with my stories, so let me know if you are interested. Maybe if I have another person to be accountable to, updates will probably be a more regular thing. I also want my readers to have the best experience with my work, and a completely edited finished product will hopefully help with that.**

**Anyway, sorry about the ridiculous wait, and I will hopefully update soon. Thank you guys for your amazing support.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I have no excuses, but I guess miracles happen because I wrote another chapter (this one has been literally years in the making)! So yay! Not sure where I was going with this in the first place, but I'm attempting to salvage, and kicking around the idea of editing it a bit XD. Until then, here's the next chapter to the story no one remembers. Fingers crossed I update things now, yeah?**

Waverly Place seemed to always have the sun shining on it. In fact, until last night, Alex couldn't remember the last time it rained (maybe that time Mason kissed her in it?). But now it seemed like it was always raining on Waverly Place, and Alex didn't like it at all. Maybe if the sun was shining, she would be a little less angry with Justin, and a little more at ease with this whole situation. Justin didn't get it. That man -no, monster- was coming back for her no matter what, so really, they would be one tiny step ahead of it, a huge improvement to the situation if you asked her.

Justin had always been needlessly over-protective at the most inopportune times. She supposed it was an older brother thing, but that didn't make it any less annoying. In fact, it made it more annoying.

A sudden slip tore her out of her reverie, pain radiating from her ribs at the jolt. She gasped, her hand going directly to her abdomen and then...

... And then she was clutching her stomach for an entirely different reason. Blood seeped through her fingers at an alarming rate, and her panic caused her magic to flare out involuntarily and shatter the nearby windows in the hall.

She furrowed her brow. _Wait_, she thought dimly. _Wasn't I outside just a second ago?_

"Alexandra," A very peeved voice stage whispered from the end of the hall. "Alexandra what have you-" The voice cut off with a horrified gasp and Alex turned her head to see Justin. Except he was dressed funny, all white gloves and a frilly kind of suit. Outdated and outright silly.

If she hadn't been in so much pain she would have laughed, but instead the pain brought her to her knees.

He fell to the ground with her, skidding the rest of the way, and his hands fluttered frantically as he tried to discern the severity of her injuries. When he finally came to the stab wound she couldn't tell whose gasp was louder, his, or her own.

"No," He whispered. "No. This is not happening." He shifted her carefully so she leaned against his chest, and his hands replaced hers, applying twice the pressure she had been capable of. Her teeth clenched.

"Help!" Justin shouted and Alex had never heard her brother sound more desperate. That was when she knew she was going to die. "Help! Someone help us!"

No one made an immediate appearance, so he moved to get up. Feeling suddenly desperate, she grabbed for his arm. The blood from her hands left a sickening contrast to his white sleeve.

"Please," She blurted out. "Please don't leave me alone."

A pained expression crossed his face. "You need medical attention." He protested weakly.

The smile she offered him was bittersweet. "They'll be too late."

Her brother shook his head in abrupt denial. "No, Alexandra, you can't say that. You're going to

be fine."

Alex huffed out a laugh. "You always were a bad liar."

Justin swallowed convulsively, and studied her face. "I don't want to be lying." He whispered brokenly. A lone tear dripped down Alex's cheek, and that was when Justin lost all semblance of emotional control he may have had. He buried his face in her hair and began sobbing. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault," She whispered, feeling more than a little numb. "It's not as though you're the family wizard yet, and even then..." She trailed off, her eyes slipped closed.

"Alexandra?" Justin asked after a few moments of silence. Getting no response, he shook her earnestly. "Alexandra?" Her hand slipping from his arm was the only response he ever received.

"No," He said. "Help! We need help!"

He rose a shaky hand to check her pulse, but Alex was already floating away. Her consciousness was being pulled in some other direction and she wondered vaguely if this is what dieing felt like...

...And then she was back. She looked around to see Waverley Place before her again. A hot dog vender was right next to her, grasping her arm and looking concerned.

"...hear me? Kid? You alright?" He yelled in her ear, and she realized belatedly she had fallen to her knees at some point.

"Yeah," She muttered. "I'm alright."

The man frowned at her. "You sure? Cause-"

He didn't get to finish his sentence before Justin was there next to her and Alex got the strangest sense of deja vu as he fell to his knees. "Alex!" He exclaimed, giving her a once over. "What happened?"

"I don't know." She said quietly.

"She was having some kind of a fit I think. " The vender chimed in. "Went all spacey for a couple'a minutes."

She glared at the man like he had just given away some huge secret. "Thanks a lot." she muttered, but neither the vendor nor her brother paid her any attention.

"Thanks, I should probably take her home." Justin was saying to the man, and the hot dog vendor gave her a worried glance before nodding with a smile.

"Feel better, kid." He called and Alex snorted because she must look pretty pathetic if she was inspiring worry in an apathetic New Yorker.

She never thought Justin could move as quickly and carefully as he did. They managed to dodge their parents before he finally pulled her back into his room, and she let him. After that vision, flashback thing, it was like all the fight had gone out of her.

"What happened?" Her brother demanded when the door had shut securely behind them.

Alex didn't even look him in the face. "I died." She said, faintly, and realized her legs were wobbling. Justin gently pushed her so she sat down on the bed. Justin had been pushing and pulling a lot lately. Alex briefly wondered why she kept letting him get away with it.

"What?" He asked, probably more harshly than he meant to. He cleared his throat and tried again. "What are you talking about? You're right here. You're fine."

Alex shook her head. "I-I had magic, and there was blood, and you were there in a silly looking tux thing and then _I died_." Her eyes held a wild look and she latched onto his arm. "I died because he's done this before." Emboldened by this realization, Alex used her brother's shoulder to push herself up and started pacing. "That's why he wanted me to remember, to _see _him."

Justin stayed where he was, frozen in shock. His sister's mood swings were usually something to fear, but this was entirely different. Something infinitely more terrifying because he wasn't terrified of her. He was terrified for her.

"Alex," He said sharply, causing her to stop short. "You're not making any sense. What are you talking about." His panic didn't make it much of a question, and Alex was once again struck with a feeling of wrongness. Justin wasn't supposed to be the pushy, strong one in this relationship. She wasn't supposed to be so weak and scared. None of this should be happening at all. They should have their powers. They should have some kind of fighting chance. Instead they were scrounging around, blind.

Alex took a deep breath to calm herself. "I'm saying I think I've lived through this before. I think we both have." She looked him full in the face to deliver the line that knocked the wind out of him. "And I'm not sure we've ever won."

"You think we're some kind of reincarnates of other people?" Justin asked carefully. "You realize how crazy that is, right?"

Alex gave him a look. "Crazier than magic carpets and vampire girlfriends?"

"Yes." Was his firm answer. "Reincarnation isn't a thing that can be gained through magic, Alex, and it would be way darker magic than anyone realizes if it was possible." A haunted look came to his face and Alex a stone drop in her stomach. "It would be more like a curse."

"He cursed us?" Alex asked, voice small. "Why would he do that?"

"Maybe I wanted to return a favor." A voice echoed through the room. Justin shoved himself between his sister and whatever was in the room with them, but the voice only laughed. "Very admirable, Justin, but you needn't worry. I'm not even here."

Behind him, Alex gasped, and clutched at her head. "Stop it!" She cried

Her brother whirled around to face her. "Alex?" He asked wearily, grasping her wrists gently, and trying to bring them away from her face. "Alex, what's happening? Look at me. Alex? Come on, look at me." She struggled against his hold, eyes squeezed shut, face angling away from him.

"No, no, no, no, no." She murmured under her breath. "Please, no. Not again."

"Shh! Alex it's okay."

"No it's not." The voice boomed cheerfully.

"What are you doing to her?" Justin's head snapped around, frantically searching for evidence of his sister's tormenter. The phantom only laughed.

"She's died so many times, you know." He whispered softly. "So many times. So many different ways." Alex screamed.

"Stop it!" Justin said without even considering the words before they were out of his mouth. This time, Alex didn't fight when Justin pulled her hands away from her face, but her eyes looked blank, haunted and empty. "Whatever you're doing, just stop it." The pleading tone leaked into his voice despite his determination to keep it out.

"I'm only giving her a repeat performance of earlier. A warning, if you will." The mystery man took on a casual tone, like he was remarking on the color of paint on the walls.

"A warning for what?" Justin gritted through his teeth.

"More like a warning for _who_." The voice bounced off the walls and moved around the room in a dizzying circle until it seemingly came from everywhere at once. Justin covered his ears and looked wildly around as the voice became unbearably loud and a wind began blowing in his room, scattering papers and knocking over a lamp. "I don't want your sister to fight back." He continued. "Not this time. Why do you think I took away your powers?"

Justin started at that. "What are you talking about?" He asked lowly.

The voice laughed hollowly. "Do you really think the counsel would let a couple of humans die in the wizard world? That they would really refuse to end a competition when lives were at stake?" The hollow laugh sounded again. "The counsel may be made up of a bunch of old fools, but this isn't the middle ages. Oh no, I think you'll find I had a hand in that little debacle."

"Why?"

"Isn't it obvious?" The voice sneered. Well, if voices could sneer of course. "The two of you took away something precious from me. And now, I return the favor."

Alex screamed again, but it was different this time, with more anger and less fear.

"Get. Out. Of. My. Head!" She said around gritted teeth, and all at once everything went quiet, and Alex crumpled to her knees for the second time that day, breathing raggedly, but otherwise unharmed.

They sat in a tense quiet, both siblings certain the voice would make a reappearance. When nothing happened, they relaxed a fraction, and Alex got to her feet a bit unsteadily, but slapped Justin's arm when he reached to help her. Hard.

"Ow!" He complained, rubbing the reddening mark. He looked down, saw the outline of her hand forming very clearly and glared half-heartedly. "Glad to see you're feeling better."

"Not really. " She muttered. He opened his mouth to say… something. Something comforting, maybe? But she continued before he managed to formulate an appropriate response in a situation like this. "We should talk to Mason about this. He might have contacts in the Wizard World that can help."

She brushed past him without a glance, and Justin was left staring open mouthed at the door. "Right," he said to the air. "Right. Why didn't I think of that?" His face creased with a frown. "Seriously. Why didn't _I_ think of that?"


End file.
